Days of Our Knight
by Shaunah
Summary: Terry and Max face an uncertain future together and realize that being the Dark Knight doesnt mean that you can't live life to it's fullest
1. Default Chapter

**Days of Our Knights **

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original Batman Beyond characters. I do own most of  the secondary characters.

A/N: I wrote this story a looooooong time ago and now since the T/M are waning I've decided to post it here for fun, even if it only brings me enjoyment so as always Read and Review and good things will come to u. 

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Absently I fingered the diamond that shone brightly on my finger, it was large, larger than I had wanted or expected but I smiled when I remembered how excited he was when he gave it to me. I replayed the scene in my head, him getting down on his knee in the middle of the banquet and asking the question, he was so nervous that the box shook with the force of his trembling. When I said yes it looked as if he would pass out and from then on I had seen nothing but smiles on his face. That was two years ago, we had been married a full year now and married life, like the ring, wasn't exactly what I expected but I wouldn't have traded it for the world. When your husband was Batman what _could_ you expect? 

                "Honey I'm home!" 

                The familiar greeting floated down the steps and into the Bat Cave and shook me from my musing, I knew that the only thing that could follow was the body of my husband. He swaggered down the steps and I marveled at how handsome he was in a suit, a business suit of course, the bat suit was a whole different kind of sexy. I got up from the Bat Computer to meet him and he immediately grabbed me around the waist and pressed his muscled body against mine. He snuggled his nose deep into my hair, which had grown a considerable length and changed color since we were younger. 

                "Mmmmm…I missed you."

                I laughed and attempted to release myself from his grasp but he just pulled me tighter and kissed down my neck. 

                "You act like you've been gone for six months."

                "Any minute away from you, my dear, is like a thousand years." He quipped dramatically in a horrible impression of a British accent. 

                He let me go but not without brushing his lips against mine.

                "What greeting card did you steal that from?" I chuckled as we walked arm in arm up the stairs and into the kitchen. 

                "I like to call it borrowing."

 Wanda, our cook, busied herself around the kitchen in preparation for dinner. She always had a way of looking busier than she actually was and that's why we love her. Terry liked to joke that she was the female version of Alfred minus the British accent and with the addition of a few more pounds. 

"Dinner will be ready soon, Mrs. McGinnis." Wanda said when we entered the kitchen. 

"Great. Terry and I will be in the living room."

"Or the bedroom." Terry piped in. I shot him a warning look.

"In the living room."

"Sure, if you want, I just thought the bedroom would be more comfortable." He thought this was incredibly funny and roared in laughter that shook the rafters. Wanda smiled at us at shook her head in mock disapproval; she treated Terry like a son and loved us both. The living room loomed warm and inviting around us and I marveled at how a little interior decorating took the boring, rather scary looking Wayne mansion and turned it into a cozy newly wed home. I sat down on the couch, kicked off my shoes and propped my feet up on the coffee table. I watched while Terry moved towards the large over stuffed chair that sat by the fireplace, it was an antique now, but it had deeper meaning than just the market value. He ran a hand over the woodwork and down the velvet seat cover. His eyes were closed and I could only imagine the memories that were running through his head. They were undoubtedly about the man who had influenced his life so much and left a huge, gaping void when he had left, the first Batman and his mentor, Bruce Wayne. He had died three months after our wedding and that was the only time that I saw Terry so withdrawn and it took a while but eventually I was able to draw him back. He had leaned heavily on me those months and we learned more about each other than we could have in years, we were best friends, lovers and trusted confidants. Terry opened his eyes and stared into space for a moment, then turned his eyes towards mine, they were misty with unshed tears. 

                "Sometimes it feels like he's still here."

                I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around his neck. 

                "I know, Ter. I know."

                I kissed him one last time before Wanda called us into the dinning room for dinner. The table was massive but it just made the room look even bigger. Instead of sitting at opposite ends of the table, Terry and I had developed the habit of sitting at one end, very close to each other. It didn't make sense to be so far apart when it was only us in the room. Dinner was a time for us to bond like I real family, in a short amount of time he would have to suit up and be gone again on patrol. 

"How was your day?" I started off while we began eating. He shoved a forkful of steak in his mouth and then chewed thoughtfully.

"It was fine. We closed a new deal with G.H. Investing Firm. According to our accountants that should bring in about 200 million. I had meetings all day, just a normal day at Wayne Powers. What about you?"

"I finally got a chance to go over some of those old criminal files Bruce had stored away, there must be tons, from small time crooks to crime bosses. I must have been down there all day, I can't wait to start reconfiguring the computer system. Some of them are highly interesting but we haven't seen these people in years, some of them must be dead. To our standards they seem low time but back then they must have been some work. Penguins, Poison Ivy, Cats and your usual round up of masked lunatics."

He smiled slightly at this. "Well, if there were no masked lunatics, then there wouldn't be any need for Batman."

"No, I still need Batman," I held his hand for a moment, took a deep breath and prepared to recite the speech I had been practicing for weeks now. "We need to talk about something…"

I was about to finish when a loud slam interrupted me and caused Terry to jump out of his seat. 

"Hey big bro!" Matt McGinnis sauntered into the dinning room in a blue Gotham High sweatshirt. His messy black hair shot in all directions but it fit his face well. He was as handsome and cocky as his older brother was at his age. He slapped Terry on the back and bent down to kiss my forehead. 

"Matt, what the heck are you doing here?" Terry looked a little annoyed but he hid it well. Matt plopped down in the chair next to me. 

"Well, mom's out with George again and," Terry's face tensed up at this but he didn't say anything. I knew that his mother's new boyfriend was a touchy subject with him. "I'm so tired of pizza and I was sorta hoping that I could get a little advice."

Terry raised an eyebrow in the direction of his brother who was subsequently picking at his dinner. 

"What kind of advice?"

"The female kind."

                Wanda walked in with a plate piled high with food. She thought Matt was god's gift to the world and treated him as such. I didn't even have to ask her to send in anything, she just knew. Matt showered her with praise over her meal and I rolled my eyes, he was going to be a handful because he was so charming and the worst part was that he was fully aware of that. After she left, Terry sat down again, he sighed heavily. 

                "Ok, what's the problem?"

                Matt chewed and stuffed forkfuls of food in his mouth like a bulldozer. "See, there's this girl named Jessa, I like her and all but her friend Taylor is really something else. I liked them both equally, so I said, hey! It would it be such a crime to take them out one after the other. So I took Taylor out on Friday and then on Saturday I took Jessa out. Okay things were great but then get this girls actually talk to each other about this stuff and the two of them got to talking and now they want to kill me, no 'crush me and spread my remains all over Gotham' was more like it."

                I couldn't help laughing at Matt's newest predicament. He was always in some kind of trouble. Terry shook his head and tried not to do the same and the worst part was Matt was completely serious.

                "Honey, you wanna take this one?" Terry said exasperatedly. 

                "Matt, first thing you should do is start apologizing to both girls for being so insensitive. Then I would suggest you figure out which one you want to date, although I'm not so sure they are going to be amicable after this little episode. After that the balls in their court."

                He thought about this for a second. "You're right. I'm going to go right over to their houses and apologize right now."

                He got up but Terry stopped him. "Wait, isn't Jessa, Flash's little sister?" 

"I think so."

"I suggest you call her instead. Flash is home from football camp this weekend." 

His face suddenly went pale and he nodded. Terry and I watched his retreating form and once again laughed at the character he had become. We finished eating and I followed Terry back down into the Bat Cave. He suited up, we said our goodbyes, I always made sure that I told him I loved him, just in case and then he flew off into the shadows. I remembered then that I hadn't told him what I was going to tell him but I guessed it could wait; I also knew I would have to tell him soon though; it wasn't something that you can keep a secret for long. He easily transformed from businessman to husband then concerned older brother to protector of justice. I smiled as I watched the little bleep, the Bat Mobile, move across the screen. Silently I wondered how easily he would transform into a father. 


	2. Chapter 2

Days of Our Knight- Chapter 2

A/N: Sorry it took so long but I have so many other stories I'm trying to keep up with. I hope you enjoy this chapter. This story is more about the personal aspect of their lives instead of the Batman part. If Max seems a little emotional, well, she's pregnant what do you expect. These first parts are a little slow but it will pick up soon.  As always Read and Review.

I sat nervously in the doctor's office, staring at the sterile white walls wondering when Dr. Keith would come so I could get out and be home before Terry realized I was gone. I still hadn't told him about the baby, there just never seemed to be a right time anymore. Lately I hadn't seen him for days on end, when I woke he'd be gone and when I went to bed he didn't make it home. He might pop in for a quick second during the day to say hello, leave a message, send flowers but it wasn't the same and I could see the strain it was making on our marriage. There were times when I wasn't sure if I could go on this way but I always pushed them out of my mind. The door to the room opened, pulling me from my thoughts and back to the matter at hand. I was pregnant.

"Maxine, it's good to see you again." Dr. Keith said, shaking my hand and sitting down on a roll chair. He was a pleasant man in his late fifties who developed fatherly concern for his patients and who had often times been a shoulder to cry on. He was clean-shaven with small glasses perched on his nose, he had been handsome once but excessive hours and hard work had done well to faintly erode it after time. He glanced down at a chart in his hand and then back at me.

"How are you feeling today?"

"Fine."

"Nurse Judith, said all your blood work was fine, your blood pressure is a little bit elevated but that's normal, we'll keep an eye on it though. The baby's heart rate is fine, we thought we heard something but we're sure it was nothing. Your progressing normally, you look great most women are huge by now. Have you been reading that nutritional information I gave you."

"Yes."

"Good, now I'm going to write a prescription for natal vitamins and you can make an appointment for about three to four weeks from now."

I nodded mutely and was about to get up when he stopped me, his eyebrows were furrowed in concern.

                "Have you told him that you're pregnant yet?"

                I shifted my eyes so that I wouldn't have to look at him and sighed deeply.

                "No, he's been busy with the company and all. The last thing he needs is to worry about me."

                "Have you ever thought that he might welcome this."

                "We said we were going to wait at least another year or so and then bam…it happened. Look, Dr. Keith, I'm going to tell him eventually, it isn't like it's something you can hide right?"

                He shook his head in disapproval but let me go. I drove home quickly and as soon as I got in the door I ran to the bathroom to relieve the wave of nausea that had suddenly over taken me. Then I sat in the bathroom and cried. I must have been there for hours because when I awoke I found myself leaned against the wall with an ache in my back that felt like it was a permanent fixture. I brushed the stray hairs out of my face and then dragged myself up to the bedroom; there I plopped down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling in the darkness. 

                It was late in the night when I felt someone gently calling my name and then the methodical movement of a hand across my arm. My eyes fluttered open to meet the blue ones of Terry who was leaning over me with a look of concern. 

                "Hey." He said softly into the darkness.

                "Hi, when did you get in?" 

                "An hour ago, it's a quiet night…finally." He leaned down to kiss me and I saw a flinch that could only mean that it wasn't as quiet as he would have me assume. I suddenly felt awake and I pulled myself up to meet him eyelevel. 

                "You're hurt."

                "I'm fine." He lied. I got out of bed and got the first aid kit from the closet.

                "Maxine, I'm fine. It was just some idiot Jokerz, it was nothing." But by the time his protest was out I had already pulled off his shirt and inspected several odd shaped bruises on his chest. Every night this was my worst fear, this is what every one of my nightmares was about. Terry being hurt or killed, sometimes they would portray him walking into the Bat Cave bleeding all over and every time I could never stop it and he would die lying there in my arms while I'm screaming hysterically. It was around this time that I would bolt up in bed and wrap my arms around him tightly, crying silently into his back but he never knew because I never told him. 

                "Ouch." He moaned after I had prodded a particularly tender spot, the bruises were bad but not that bad and tonight he would live. I just couldn't help wondering about every other night after this one. Would there ever be a time when I couldn't stop the bleeding or I couldn't stop the hurt and I would be left to scream hysterically over the body of the man that I loved. After he was patched up the feeling of nausea over took me again and I ran to the bathroom, knelt in front of the toilet and vomited again. Terry ran in after me and he knelt down beside me, pulling the hair away from my face so that it wouldn't get in the way. After the storm of sickness had passed he helped me up and into bed.

"I'm fine."

He chuckled slightly. "You a worse liar than I am."

Terry pulled the covers back and got in beside me with his strong arms around my waist and his chin on top of my head. 

"I miss you, you know that."

"I miss you too."

We laid in silence for a moment, just basking in each other's company.

"I'm so glad it's just the two of us for now, I love being alone with you."

Involuntarily I stiffened and I knew he felt it but for some reason he didn't comment. Instead he kissed my head, rolled over and went to sleep. I tried but the nightmares came again, this time I was holding the baby in my arms, crying hysterically and it was Terry who watched silently shrouded in darkness without a trace of emotion on his face. I didn't cry into his back that night, I muffled my tears with a pillow. 


End file.
